Welcome to the first blog for Aston Villa! What a week it’s been for Aston Villa. Looking at the various forums about the internet it is unclear as to what villa supporters feel as a whole. What I have found is that the one thing Villa fans can’t do is agree. Some are joyful of Makoun’s release and some feel it’s the loss of a great player. What follows is my interpretation of the week’s comings and goings – I’m not claiming to give a uniting opinion of the fans. That would seem an impossibility!
Let’s start with the Carling Cup game versus Hereford. This was the perfect opportunity for some of the previously underperforming players to stake a claim. This was also a chance for the fans to be thrilled by a classy performance against a team of a much lower quality. The first half was a complete disappointment. Bent received no service, Albrighton was marked out of the game and Villa seemed to have a one track mind and play it through the middle. Makoun and Ireland both started and was an opportunity to shine. In this game Makoun sealed his Villa fate. Poor passing and always a couple of steps behind the play. It was clear he wasn’t ready for the pressures of premier league football.
I have read some interesting blogs about Ireland’s performance and some said he showed the class he was capable of. I did not see this. He rarely tracked back into his own half. Chased nothing and his passes were often of a poor quality and not linking play but in fact ending it. There were glimpses of brilliance but with as many wasted opportunities he had it was clear he is not yet back to the form we saw at Man City. One must hope that he finds this soon. Bannan was the star and asked McLeish why he isn’t in the first team already (a perfect swap for the underperforming Petrov).
Delfouneso came on to try and spice things up and he did but the real starlet was Weimann who had pace and vision and always found some space to get into. I don’t know whether Delfouneso was blind to Weimann’s runs or simply ignored them but this lack of vision held Villa back. It was Weimann’s vision that set Delfouneso up and I wanted to see more of him. I hope that Weimann gets the action he craves at Watford and comes back ready for first team action!
So Makoun went – a good wage cut and Luke Young moved to QPR for a fee in the region of £2 million. A great shame to lose one of Villa’s regular performers but it was no secret that he wanted a move back to London and would have gone for free next summer. I never wanted him to leave but if he was going we may as well get some money for him. Hogg was the surprise exit for me but looking at it he is 22 and hadn’t really broken into challenging for the midfield place he craved. Yes he didn’t really get a chance but we may just have to trust McLeish’s decision here.
As deadline day approached Twitter was engulfed with speculation and the day proved fruitful for Villa. First of all – Enda Stevens. This was the “one for the future” that Mat Kendrick from the Birmingham Mail had been told to look out for. Whilst it is fair to say no one had heard of the lad the more research you do into him shows him to be a real promise and he is getting Europa League experience before he joins us. I believe a valuable acquisition at a bargain price.
Alan Hutton – it was of no surprise that we signed him. A Scotland International who has pace and power. Also a previous relationship with McLeish. At 26, with many years on his career, and undoubtedly on a lower wage than Luke Young I believe he can be a signing that will be a Villa regular and really support the defence and attack alike. The only negative is it puts back the progress of Chris Herd who had proved to be quite promising at these early stages of the season.
Finally – Jermaine Jenas. A quality midfielder who has found hard times but has previous England experience. Yes he has been rotting in Spurs’ reserves after injury. However, I don’t think it was his lack of quality keeping him out of Spurs side but that his style of play doesn’t fit that of Tottenham. McLeish is trying to bring variety to Villa’s play and as long as he can stay fit I believe that Jenas can be part of a change of culture and style at Villa Park.
Let’s see if these signings can make the difference.
Up the Villa!
Let’s start with the Carling Cup game versus Hereford. This was the perfect opportunity for some of the previously underperforming players to stake a claim. This was also a chance for the fans to be thrilled by a classy performance against a team of a much lower quality. The first half was a complete disappointment. Bent received no service, Albrighton was marked out of the game and Villa seemed to have a one track mind and play it through the middle. Makoun and Ireland both started and was an opportunity to shine. In this game Makoun sealed his Villa fate. Poor passing and always a couple of steps behind the play. It was clear he wasn’t ready for the pressures of premier league football.
I have read some interesting blogs about Ireland’s performance and some said he showed the class he was capable of. I did not see this. He rarely tracked back into his own half. Chased nothing and his passes were often of a poor quality and not linking play but in fact ending it. There were glimpses of brilliance but with as many wasted opportunities he had it was clear he is not yet back to the form we saw at Man City. One must hope that he finds this soon. Bannan was the star and asked McLeish why he isn’t in the first team already (a perfect swap for the underperforming Petrov).
Delfouneso came on to try and spice things up and he did but the real starlet was Weimann who had pace and vision and always found some space to get into. I don’t know whether Delfouneso was blind to Weimann’s runs or simply ignored them but this lack of vision held Villa back. It was Weimann’s vision that set Delfouneso up and I wanted to see more of him. I hope that Weimann gets the action he craves at Watford and comes back ready for first team action!
So Makoun went – a good wage cut and Luke Young moved to QPR for a fee in the region of £2 million. A great shame to lose one of Villa’s regular performers but it was no secret that he wanted a move back to London and would have gone for free next summer. I never wanted him to leave but if he was going we may as well get some money for him. Hogg was the surprise exit for me but looking at it he is 22 and hadn’t really broken into challenging for the midfield place he craved. Yes he didn’t really get a chance but we may just have to trust McLeish’s decision here.
As deadline day approached Twitter was engulfed with speculation and the day proved fruitful for Villa. First of all – Enda Stevens. This was the “one for the future” that Mat Kendrick from the Birmingham Mail had been told to look out for. Whilst it is fair to say no one had heard of the lad the more research you do into him shows him to be a real promise and he is getting Europa League experience before he joins us. I believe a valuable acquisition at a bargain price.
Alan Hutton – it was of no surprise that we signed him. A Scotland International who has pace and power. Also a previous relationship with McLeish. At 26, with many years on his career, and undoubtedly on a lower wage than Luke Young I believe he can be a signing that will be a Villa regular and really support the defence and attack alike. The only negative is it puts back the progress of Chris Herd who had proved to be quite promising at these early stages of the season.
Finally – Jermaine Jenas. A quality midfielder who has found hard times but has previous England experience. Yes he has been rotting in Spurs’ reserves after injury. However, I don’t think it was his lack of quality keeping him out of Spurs side but that his style of play doesn’t fit that of Tottenham. McLeish is trying to bring variety to Villa’s play and as long as he can stay fit I believe that Jenas can be part of a change of culture and style at Villa Park.
Let’s see if these signings can make the difference.
Up the Villa!
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